Hitchbot looks like a horror film victim in this tweet from journalist Lauren O'Neil.

"Oh dear, my body was damaged, but I live on back home and with all my friends," Hitchbot wrote on his website. "I guess sometimes bad things happen to good robots! My trip must come to an end for now, but my love for humans will never fade. Thank you to all my friends."

Hitchbot is equipped with GPS, 3G, video and audio, which perhaps made him more likely to be mugged than mutilated by vandals. With his metal torso wrapped in flexible solar panels, and foam arms ready for handshaking and hugs, Hitchbot was hardly the Terminator.